Miles Apart, They Find Common Ground on Ball Field : Cultures: Local Little Leaguers and their counterparts from a Japanese sister city make a pitch for better understanding.

Flashing wide smiles, young baseball players from Isehara, Japan, revealed what they have discovered since arriving in their town’s sister city of La Mirada last Sunday.

Their American counterparts--boys 10, 11 and 12 years old--have their own bedrooms in large houses, chew sunflower seeds during games and speak openly to their parents without being spoken to first.

But the Japanese, after a whirlwind trip that included three afternoons of games against American teams at Behringer Baseball Park this past week, quickly discovered how small the world can be.

“When they first came here, I was concerned about the language barrier,” said Ron Boatright, whose son Noah is the third boy in his family to play in this biannual series. “But the minute the Japanese saw the Nintendo game in our house, they were all just kids.”

The Sister City Series began in 1983, two years after the two cities were brought together by U.S. Amada Ltd., a manufacturing company headquartered in Isehara with plants in Buena Park and La Mirada. Japanese parents paid 300,500 yen (about $2,150) each to send the 28 boys, who lived in American homes during their six-day stay.

Many American parents were surprised that the Japanese boys did not raise funds to pay for their trips or for visits by their parents--a common practice in the United States. Instead, most of the Japanese parents sent their sons but stayed home, entrusting them to nine adults, including Masashi Hurakami, the man La Mirada residents refer to simply as “Coach.”

This is the fourth time Hurakami has brought Japanese teams here. Three American baseball teams and a girls’ softball team traveled to Isehara, about 30 miles southwest of Tokyo, in 1984. An American contingent is slated to visit Japan for 10 days next spring, much to the delight of Vice President Terutoyo Nakaya of the Pupils’ Team of the Isehara Baseball Assn.

“I want American kids to come to learn about us,” he said.

Peter Dames, past president of the La Mirada Athletic Council, has been the driving force behind the project since it began, although he relies on officials from the La Mirada Little League and the city’s baseball association to supply umpires, prepare fields and select which Americans will play.

Dames warned organizers that the games were to be played for fun and not with a win-at-all-cost attitude--a popular criticism of many youth baseball tournaments.

“These are not all-star teams,” he said about the visitors. He established that the American teams were to be evenly divided in talent and told umpires to lighten up on enforcing basic rules. For example, leading off base--forbidden in Little League--was allowed because it is common in Japan.

Dames limited speeches and banquet appearances for the guests so that they could spend more time socializing in a casual atmosphere. T-shirts, donated by the Medical Center of La Mirada, replaced baseball jerseys. They came in two colors, with the names of the sister cities written in both languages down the sides.

“In Japan they are very formal,” Dames explained. “Here there are no speeches; no one shows up to throw out the first ball. The Japanese kids love that.”

In earlier years some American parents, particularly first-time participants, took the games too seriously. But series organizers think that over time the visits have contributed to a new wave of cultural understanding.

Dames’ son, Peter, for example, who played in the Isehara games in 1984, went on to study Japanese at UCLA and currently works for Toyota in Tokyo.

Explained Hurakami: “This trip is important for our players to meet Americans and to understand them. It is planned so they are allowed to learn about the relationship American families have.”

The Japanese, long defenders of a closed society, are slowly feeling “Americanization,” according to the senior Dames.

“I’ve noticed a big change in them since 1983,” he said. “The kids are more outspoken.”

Many things have helped bridge the cultural gap, but baseball has been a catalyst. Explained interpreter Satoshi Ohnishi, a Japanese national now working for a Los Angeles travel agency: “Baseball came to Japan from America, so many of the words are the same.” However, a “fourball” (walk), “three empty swings” (strikeout) and a “deadball” (being hit by a pitch) are Japanese variations.

Ohnishi was sent to observe the La Mirada event and to determine whether it would be possible to try similar travel packages between other cities. Cultural visits such as these dispel many images that residents of both countries have about each other, he said.

For example, Takiko Matsunaga, making her first trip to the United States with her son, Kennichi, a catcher, said she had fears about leaving for America before she boarded the plane.

“I had heard so much about the gangs and drugs in the L.A. area,” she said. “But now that I have come here I have changed my impression. It is now good.”

American cuisine also has played an important role.

“Pizza and hamburgers are all they want,” said Darlene Mahan, who played host to two Japanese boys in her home this past week. “They told us they didn’t want any of their kind of food.”

Judging by the chatter Monday at Behringer Baseball Park, American parents were more than willing to oblige. Many swapped food anecdotes. Lynn Armstrong said one of the two Japanese players in her home, unfamiliar with U.S. cereal, didn’t know it was supposed to be eaten with a spoon. But he didn’t complain.

In fact, the Americans said, the Japanese boys were almost too polite.

Shortstop Tatsuya Yamamoto, 12, who displayed some adept fielding in his game last Monday, had an embarrassing moment at Darlene Mahan’s home in Whittier. Searching for a bathroom at night, he shut himself inside a closet. He did not want to pester Mahan, she said, so he had not asked for directions.

Nevertheless, Yamamoto was impressed with the closet, as he was with the rest of the three-bedroom, two-bath house. “Huge home,” he said.

Jack Brooks, 12, found communicating that with the non-English-speaking players was easier than he expected, although pronouncing many of their names was difficult.

“We gave them nicknames, and they didn’t seem to mind,” he said.

Food from McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken was familiar to the young Japanese, but sunflower seeds were not.

Said Yamamoto: “We want to try them, but we are afraid they will cut our mouth.”

Parents said it was easy to grow fond of their Japanese visitors.

Said Boatright: “You don’t think about it until they leave, but you get so close to them. When they get on that bus to go, then you shed a few tears.”

The first day of play went better than planned. Although no official scores were kept, the Japanese players were more formidable than in past years.

“It’s very even,” Dames said. “Sometimes we have wiped them out, and that is not good.”

The games ended at sunset, with handshakes all around. The visitors bowed, wearing big grins.

Then it was time for more burgers and pizza.

Isehara, Japan

La Mirada and Isehara, Japan, began the baseball Sister City Series in 1983, two years after they became sister cities. The visit this week was the fourth for a Japanese team. Three U.S. baseball teams and a girls’ softball team traveled to Isehara in 1984, and an American contingent is slated to visit Japan for 10 days next spring. Here is a brief look at Isehara:

* Population: 75,125

* Location: about 30 miles southwest of Tokyo

* Major industry: machinery manufacturing

* Biggest employers: Amada Ltd., which makes large machines that are then used in the manufacturing of other machinery and machine tools, and Tokai University Hospital

* Chief agricultural product: peanuts

* Similarities to La Mirada: Both are landlocked communities that are near major port cities. Their mix of white-collar and blue-collar workers is about the same. Many people who live in Isehara work in Tokyo, similar to the commuters from La Mirada who work in Los Angeles or other local cities.

* Reaction to Los Angeles: Takiko Matsunaga, who made her first trip to the United States with her son, Kennichi, said: “I had heard so much about the gangs and drugs in the L.A. area. But now that I have come here I have changed my impression. It is now good.”

Source: U.S. Amada Ltd.; interviews with visiting players and parents